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The time has again arrived for our annual JUKAI CEREMONY at Treeleaf Sangha ... being held today, Sunday, January 12th at Midnight (Sunday-Monday) Japan time (that is New York 10am, Los Angeles 7am (Sunday morning), London 3pm and Paris 4pm (Sunday afternoon)). The ceremony will last about 1 hour, and will be visible from that time at the link below from shortly before such time:

Our 17 Preceptees come together simultaneously from 8 countries (from Sweden to Mexico to Slovenia) joining in this Jukai as one, after having spent several months preparing for this day, studying the Precepts, sewing a rakusu, weighing the place of the Buddhist Teachings in their life. As with everything at Treeleaf, all was accomplished fully online, and invite all our Sangha to the celebration. Taigu Turlur and Jundo Cohen are Preceptors.

Jukai literally means to receive or to undertake the Precepts. It is the ceremony both of one’s formally committing to the Buddhist Sangha and to the Practice of Zen Buddhism, and of one’s undertaking the “Sixteen Mahayana Bodhisattva Precepts” as guides for life. Traditionally for Jukai, one receives from a teacher the Rakusu, which represents the robe of the Buddha, the Kechimyaku, a written lineage chart connecting the recipient to the Buddhas and Ancestors of the past, and a “Dharma name” selected by the teacher and representing qualities of the recipient’s personality and practice.

My teacher, Nishijima Roshi, has written this:

When a Buddhist seeks to commence upon the study of Buddhism, there is first a ceremony which should be undertaken: It is called “Jukai,” the “Receipt of the Precepts,” the ceremony in which one receives and undertakes the Precepts as a disciple of the Buddha… Master Dogen specifically left us a chapter entitled ‘”Jukai,” in which it is strongly emphasized that, when the Buddhist believer first sets out to commence Buddhist practice… be it monk, be it lay person, no matter… the initial needed steps include the holding of the ceremony of Jukai and the undertaking of the Precepts… The rationale of all of the Buddhist Precepts, the Mahayana Boddhisattva Precepts ... is as a pointing toward the best ways for us to live in this life, in this real world… how to live benefiting both ourselves and others as best we can.

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Please take all my comments with a grain of salt - I am a novice priest and anything I say is to be taken with a good dose of skepticism - Shodo Yugen

G+ is bouncing me out repeatedly, but hanging in there!! Wonderful ceremony!!

Deep bows
Yugen

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Please take all my comments with a grain of salt - I am a novice priest and anything I say is to be taken with a good dose of skepticism - Shodo Yugen

Finally, I got the link back!
Thank you all. What a wonderful ceremony. Congratulations and welcome to the Jukai res today. I look forward to meeting you all under your new Dharma names.
Gassho, Shokai

Sent from my Note 2 using Tapatalk4

仁道 生開 - Jindo Shokai "Open to life in a benevolent way"
Just another itinerant monk going nowhere; try somewhere else to listen to someone who really knows.

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Please take all my comments with a grain of salt - I am a novice priest and anything I say is to be taken with a good dose of skepticism - Shodo Yugen

As Jundo said during the ceremony, worry not William. You have already taken jukai in your heart, so there is nothing to "confirm". However, I am certain Jundo would be very content to go over the ceremony with you one on one.

Gassho,
Dosho

Originally Posted by Milarepa

I also missed a large part of the ceremony due to bad internet connection or something.
Do I need to confirm the jukai afterwards?

Gassho
Edward

Ordained Priest -In-TrainingPlease take what I say with a grain of salt,
especially in matters of the Dharma!

If you would like to change your username to your dharma name, please PM with your new name and I'll get it changed. Please make sure you add your old username to your signature while we reassociate your new name. You will probably want to keep your avatar the same too for a while.

I just rewatched the entire ceremony and, even with the signal dropping a few times, I am happy to report that all needed parts of the Ceremony are there! We did not miss any. If you had trouble to see or hear any section, or had trouble to get in, please rewatch the Ceremony to catch it. You can also confirm later with me in a short meeting if you wish. You were Present.

It was a lovely ceremony and it still is. I'm still thinking about all part of it and the puzzle will soon be done. Or not.
I think it's great that we, from all around the world was in Japan today to participate in this old ceremony.